May 28 2000
From The Space Library
NASA controllers began sending signals to the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory to perform a series of maneuvers that would ultimately end in the satellite crashing into the Pacific Ocean. The endgame commands marked the conclusion of a successful nine-year mission, which had recorded data on more than 2,500 gamma-ray bursts. The US$670 million satellite, launched on 5 April 1991 aboard Mission STS-37, had provided researchers with never-before-seen images of explosions throughout the universe. "It will be like losing a member of the family," remarked one NASA scientist who had worked on the program since 1979. NASA officials had decided to end the satellite's space tenure because of the possibility that the aging satellite might become unresponsive and plummet out of control to Earth. By initiating the satellite's demise, NASA could control the landing area of the 17-ton (15,400-kilogram or 15.4-tonne) spacecraft. Some critics charged NASA with being too conservative, because it had based its decision on the 1-in-1,000 odds that an uncontrolled descent of the satellite to Earth would result in injuries.
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